Leveling device for stove or oven structure



c. A. OWENS 3,400,707

LEVELING DEVICE FOR STOVE OR OVEN STRUCTURE Sept. 10, 1968 Filed April21, 1967 INVENTOR.

Cum: 1?. OWE/v.5

H ATTORNEY United States Patent ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A device foradjusting the position of a stove or oven in a camper or other movablevehicle to a position where the stove or oven will support a pot, pan orother cooking utensil in a level position.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention A device for soadjusting a camper-supported stove or oven to a position where a pot,pan, or other cooking utensil placed thereon will be level.

Description of the prior art During the past few years, the popularityof trailers and campers has increased tremendously in providing eithertemporary or permanent living quarters in predetermined locations. Suchvehicles normally include a stove or oven as a part thereof.

When a vehicle such as a camper is used to provide temporary livingquarters in difficult locations or on un even terrain, a stove or ovenin the camper will be angularly disposed whereby it is incapable ofsupporting cooking utensils in a level position. This angularpositioning of a stove or oven is most inconvenient, the contents of acooking utensil will not spread evenly over the bottom thereof, but tendto run to the low point therein.

The present invention permits a stove or oven to be easily adjusted to aposition relative to the trailer with which it is associated to onewhere cooking utensils are supported in a level position on the stove orin the oven, whereby the difficulties of cooking previously encounteredare substantially eliminated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A manually actuatable device that may be usedto so position a spider-supporting sheet over one or more burnerslocated beneath said spiders that cooking utensils supported on thespiders level to permit the contents of such utensils to cover theinterior bottom sufaces thereof, and achieve even heating and propercooking of food. A second manually operable device for so adjusting anoven relative to a camper in which it is installed to a desired positionwhere cooking utensils disposed therein are supported in a substantiallylevel position.

A major object of the invention is to provide manually adjustable meansto permit either a spider-supporting sheet above one or more burners tobe disposed in a horizontal position, or an oven adjusted to a positionwhere shelves or other cooking utensil supporting means therein arepositioned in a substantially horizontal plane.

Another object of the invention is to provide devices for adjusting theposition of spider-supporting sheets or ovens which are of relativelysimple mechanical structure, may be installed on either new or old ovenstructures, can be fabricated from standard commercially availablematerials, is simple and easy to use, requires little or no maintenanceattention, and can be manufactured at a sufficiently low cost as toencourage the widespread use thereof in conjunction with stoves or ovensthat are to be installed in campers or trailers.

substantially horizontal plane;

3,400,707 Patented Sept. 10, 1968 2 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGFIGURE 1 is a perspective view of an adjustable spider-supporting sheetmounted on the upper portion of a conventional stove structure;

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of the adjustable actuating device used withthe sheet shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary, combined, vertical crosssectional andelevational view of the device shown in FIGURE 2, taken on the line 3-3thereof;

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of the device shown in FIGURE 1, but withthe spider-supporting sheet having been tilted to a position where thespiders are in a FIGURE 5 is a combined front elevational and verticalcross-sectional view of an oven and manual adjusting means for disposingthe same in a position where cooking utensils are held in a levelposition when disposed on supporting portions thereof;

FIGURE 6 is a top plan view of the device shown in FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 7 is an enlarged perspective view of the manually operable deviceshown in FIGURE 5 for adjusting the oven to a desired level; and

FIGURE 8 is a side elevational view of a third form of the device.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS With reference to the firstform A of the invention, it will be seen in FIGURE 1 of the drawing thatit is associated with a conventional rectangular frame 10 which supportsa number of spaced burners (not shown). The burners are disposed infixed positions above a horizontal base 12, as best seen in FIGURE 3,which base is connected to the lower edge portions of the frame 10. Asheet 14 is provided that extends across the upper portion of the frame10 and is supported on the upper edges thereof. A number of spacedopenings 16 are formed in sheet 14, with each of the openings being invertical alignment with one of the burners (not shown).

A spider 18 extends across each opening 16, and each spider serves toremovably support a cooking utensil (not shown), to permit heatingthereof by the burner (not shown) associated with that particularspider. The sheet '14 has side walls 20 extending downwardly from theouter extremities thereof, and these side walls are so spaced as toloosely and slidably engage the exterior surfaces of the frame 10.

Diagonally aligned openings 22 are formed in frame 10, as shown inFIGURES 1 and 2, which rotatably support the end portions of a first rod24. Two longitudinally spaced legs 26 and 28 extend outwardly inopposite directions from rod 24, as shown in FIGURE 2. Legs 26 and 28are conveniently formed "by doubling over portions of the rod 24. Ahandle 30 is formed on one end of rod 24, which handle may be easilygrasped to permit pivoting of the rod. The legs 26 and 28 are of suchlength that as the rod 24 is rotated, one of the legs will engage theunder side of the sheet 14 and tilt it. The legs 26 and 28 are disposedat an angle of substantially relative to one another as shown in FIGURE3.

A second rod 24 is provided that is of the same configuration as that ofthe first rod 24, and is rotatably supported in openings 22 formed inframe 10 in a direc tion normal to the first rod. Elements of second rod24' common to those of first rod 24 are designated in the drawing by thesame identifying numerals used in conjunction with the first rod, but towhich a prime has been added.

When it is desired to tilt but a corner portion of the sheet 14 to placethe sheet in a horizontal plane, as sho'wnin phantom line in FIGURE 1,this is accomplished by rotation of but one of the rods 24 or 24. Ifeither the forward or rear portion of the sheet 14 is to be tilted(FIGURE 4), this is accomplished by rotation of the rods 24 and 24' inappropriate directions. After the sheet 14 has been tilted relative tothe frame 10 to bring it into a true horizontal plane by rotation of therods 24 and 24, the rods must be removably held in a non-rotatingposition to maintain the sheet level.

For this purpose it has been found convenient to provide two slightlyresilient upright members 32, best seen in FIGURES 2 and 3, that arewelded or otherwise rigidly secured to the upper surface of the base 12.Members 32 (FIGURE 2) are parallel to the leg 26. Bores 34 formed in theupright members 32 rotatably support straight portions of the rod 24.The adjacent faces of the members 32 are formed with a number ofcircumferentially spaced raised bodies 36 that extend towards oneanother.

The bodies 36 are so spaced that pairs thereof resiliently grip oppositesides of the leg 26, as shown in FIGURE 3, and hold the leg in a desiredposition where the sheet 14 is disposed in a horizontal plane. Variouspositions that the legs 26 and 28 may occupy relative to the sheet 14are shown in phantom line in FIGURE 3.

The bodies 36 resiliently engage the leg 26 with sufficient force toprevent inadvertent rotation of the rod 24, but not to such an extent asto prevent rotation of this rod by use of the handle 30. The second rod24' is also provided with two resilient upright members 32', asillustrated in FIGURE 2. Members 32' are of the same construction asthat of members 32, and serve to hold the second rod 24 in a desirednon-rotating position relative to frame 10. The opening 16, as well asthe locationing of the burners (not shown) are so arranged relative toone another as to not interfere with the position of the rods 24 and 24'in the frame 10. The second rod 24 is rotatably supported in the frame10, either above or below the first rod 24.

A second form B of the invention is shown in FIG- URES -7 inclusive,that is particularly adapted for adjusting a conventional oven C to aposition where shelves (not shown) within the confines thereof may bedisposed in a horizontal position, irrespective of the angulation of thecamper or trailer in which the oven C is installed. The oven C is ofconventional rectangular shape, with a door 38 pivotally mounted on theforward portion thereof. A U-shaped band 40 extends outwardly from aside wall 42 of a camper (not shown) in which the oven C is installed,with the band loosely engaging the upper portion of the oven C, anddisposed above the upper exterior of the door 38. Should the oven C bedisposed between two adjacent built-in structures of the camper (notshown), the band 40 may be dispensed with, and the built-in structuresutilized to maintain the oven C in an upright position.

A second U-shaped shell 44 is provided that is preferably in verticalalignment with the first U-shaped band 40, and extends around the lowerextremity of the oven C, as shown in FIGURE 5. Shell 44 can be supportedfrom the floor 46 of the camper, as also shown in FIG- URE 5. At leastthe forward portion of shell 44 cannot extend above the lower extremityof the door 38, for otherwise it would prevent the full opening thereof.

Should it be desired, the band 40 and shell 44 can be connected,provided an opening is formed therein when so connected as to permitaccess to the interior of the oven C through the door 38.

A rigid support member 50 extends downwardly from the bottom 48 of ovenC, as may be seen in FIGURE 7, and this member terminates in a bulb-likelower end 52. Should it be desired, a conventional caster (not shown)may be afiixed to the lower end of the support member 50. Thelower end52 slidably engages either the floor 56 of the camper or a rear plate 54supported on the floor as illustrated in FIGURE 5.

A first L-shaped rod 58 is provided that includes a leg 60 which extendsthrough a transverse bore 62 formed in the member to pivotally connectthis first rod to the member. Inadvertent disengagement of leg frommember 50 is prevented by a cotter pin 64, or other holding means,mounted on the forwardly extending portion of the leg, as shown inFIGURE 7. The rod 58 has a threaded end portion 66 which is adapted toengage an elongate tapped cavity 68 formed in a cylindrical member 70.The outer end of member 70 supports an enlarged head 72, and an L-shapedhandle 74 is secured to this head. Member 70 is loosely but rotatablysupported in an opening 76 formed in one of the forward corner portionsof shell 44, as may best be seen in FIG- URE 6.

A washer 78 is rigidly secured to the elongate member 70 inwardly fromthe head 72 to prevent inadvertent displacement of this member from theshell 44. When handle 74 is rotated, the member 70 will obviously rotaterelative to the threaded portion 66 of rod 58, and move the rod inwardlyor outwardy relative to the member, depending upon the direction ofrotation of the handle. As this relative movement of rod 58 takes placerelative to member 70, the oven C is tilted in a vertical plane thatextends through the longitudinal axis of this rod.

A second rod 58' is provided that is identical to rod 58, and ispivotally connected to the member 50 in a direction normal to the firstrod 58. The second rod 58' is associated with an identical group ofelements as described in connection with the first rod 58, and thisassembly is identified in FIGURE 7 of the drawing by the same numeralsused in connection with the first rod assembly, but to which primes havebeen .added. When the handle 74' is rotated, the member 70 in turnrotates relative to the threaded end portion 66' of second rod 58'. andpivots the oven C in a direction normal to the direction of movementwhen the handle 74 is rotated. By separate rotation of handles 74 or 74,or concurrent rotation thereof, the oven C may be so adjusted that theshelves therein, as well as the upper portion of the oven, are all in ahorizontal plane. The opening 76' is located in a forward cornerposition of the shell 44, as may be seen in FIGURE 6. Irrespective ofwhether a caster, roller, or enlarged end portion 52 is used on thelower end of the member 50, the operation of the device (FIG- URES 5-7)is the same.

A third form E of a device for supporting a cooking utensil in a levelposition on top of a stove (not shown) is illustrated in FIGURE 8. FormE includes a first plate 80 that rests on the stove, and a second plate82 is connected thereto by a hinge 84. Both plates 80 and 82 are formedfrom a heat-conducting material. An ovular cam 86 is rotatably supportedfrom first plate 80 by conventional means, and is positioned between thefirst and second plates.

Serrations 88 are formed on the exterior surface of cam 86 that engageserrations 90 formed on the plates 80 and 82. Due to such engagement ofthe serrations, the cam 86 may be held in a desired adjusted positionrelative to the plates 80 and 82 to maintain the plate 82 in ahorizontal position.

I claim:

1. In a camper or trailer-supported stove or oven structure including atleast one burner disposed in a fixed position within a generallyhorizontal rectangular frame, the improvement for so holding a cookingutensil in a position above said burner that the bottom of said utensilis in a horizontal plane, comprising:

(a) a rigid sheet that at least partially rests on the upper edges ofsaid frame;

(b) a plurality of side walls which depend from the outer extremities ofsaid sheet and loosely engage the exterior surfaces of said frame;

(0) at least one spider afiixed to said sheet and extending across onopening formed therein, which spider and opening are in verticalalignment with said burner;

(d) first and second horizontal rods rotatably sup ported in said frameand extending thereacross, which rods are disposed in a direction normalto one another;

(e) handle means for independently rotating each of said rods;

(1') two pairs of longitudinally spaced, transversely positioned legsthat extend outwardly from said rods below said sheet, with each of saidlegs being of sufiicient length as to contact and tilt said sheetrelative to said frame when said rod on which said leg is mounted ispivoted in an appropriate direction by said handle means; and

(g) means for adjustably maintaining said first and second rods and legsin positions where said sheet is horizontal after said sheet has been somoved thereto by contact with said legs. 2. An improvement as defined inclaim 1 wherein said (h) resilient means which pressure contact atleastone of said legs in each of said pairs to maintain said rods in desiredadjusted positions relative to said sheet.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 7/1891 Dee 12624 5/1931 Robinson126-215 FREDERICK L. MATTESON, JR., Primary Examiner.

20 E. G. FAVORS, Assistant Examiner.

